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2011

CIA changes course, agrees to process request for documents on Open Source Works

donal brown December 15, 2011

The Central Intelligence Agency says it will now consider a Freedom of Information Act request for documents on Open Source Works, a new CIA open source intelligence division. An historian had asked for the charter of Open Source Works with the reply that the CIA could not confirm or deny the existence of the charter. -db From Secrecy News, December 14, 2011, by Steven Aftergood. Full story  

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Citizens Media Law Project explains decision in Oregon blogger’s defamation lawsuit

donal brown December 15, 2011

Commentary about the decision a federal judge made in a defamation suit about a blogger not protected by the Oregon shield law is based on an erroneous reading of the decision, writes Eric P. Robinson for the Citizens Media Law Project. “He did not deny Cox the protection of the shield law primarily because she is a blogger, but because she tried to use the shield law in a way that courts have rejected,” writes

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Chicago federal judge no longer asking for reporters’ notes

donal brown December 15, 2011

A U.S. district judge is no longer asking Chicago reporters to provide notes of interviews with a juror who did not admit to two felony convictions in filling out court papers prior to serving in a high profile trial. The trial concerned a charge that a man tried to extort money from a film producer trying to buy a share of the state Teacher Retirement System pension fund. -db From the Chicago Sun-Times, December 15,

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Opinion: Scholars say online piracy bills violate U.S. Constitution

donal brown December 15, 2011

Leading Constitutional scholars say the online piracy legislation currently before Congress throttles constitutional rights, writes Corynne McSherry for the Electronic Freedom Foundation. She says the revised legislation only gives lip service to the First Amendment and denies due process and free speech in ways described by the scholars. -db From a commentary for the Electronic Freedom Foundation, December 14, 2011, by Corynne McSherry. Full story  

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Dominican Republic sugar owners suffer setback in defamation case

donal brown December 15, 2011

A federal court of appeals said owners of Dominican Republic sugar cane plantations were public figures, making it more difficult for to prove they were defamed by a documentary film about the harsh treatment of Haitian laborers on the plantations. To prove defamation, the owners must show that documentary film makers acted with actual malice. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, December 13, 2011, by Chris Healy. Full story     

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